Embattled rapper Kanye West is facing a hefty lawsuit for attempting to “discount George Floyd’s life,” when he commented on the nature of his infamous 2020 death.
Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s only child, is planning to file a $250 million suit for “harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress,” against the Yeezy billionaire on behalf of her minor daughter.
In an unscheduled appearance on podcast “Drink Champs,” which has since been removed from YouTube, West discussed Floyd’s death with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on Saturday night.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out. One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes,” he said. “They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
The lawsuit, which will be reportedly filed through two law firms, the Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon and Dixon Attorneys at Law, will also target West’s “business partners and associates,” according to a statement released by Floyd’s family.
“The interests of the child are priority. George Floyd’s daughter is being traumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe environment for her,” attorney Nuru Witherspoon wrote, according to Variety.
Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police offer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on his neck for an extended period of time, while he was being arrested for attempting to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store in 2020. A nonlethal amount of fentanyl was found in his system during an autopsy.
“Kanye’s comments are a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death. We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy,” said fellow Floyd family lawyer Pat D. Dixon III.
In the same interview, West accused “Jewish Zionists” of commanding the entertainment industry.
“Jewish people have owned the Black voice,” he remarked. “Either it’s through us wearing the Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney. I respect what the Jewish people have done, and how they brought their people together.”
“Drink Champs” host N.O.R.E. apologized for airing the interview, which he believed that he would be able to manage, but clearly couldn’t. “I felt that I could control the interview, and learned early on that I didn’t,” he commented.
“I did not realize that the George Floyd statements made by Kanye on my show were so hurtful,” N.O.R.E continued. “You have to realize that it was the first five minutes of the show — like when he walked in, he told my producer that if we stop filming, he’ll walk out. So I didn’t want a Birdman moment, like when he walked out, so I wanted the man to speak.”
“I sincerely apologize to anybody that was hurt by Kanye’s words, by Kanye’s actions,” he concluded.